A desert region known for its dry, often hot climate as well as its stands of saguaro cactus and the spectacular beauty of the Grand Canyon, the Southwest includes southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Here you'll encounter the Joshua tree and the singing sands, slot canyons and natural arches, and learn how to make adobe bricks, build a solar oven, simulate liquefaction with a Lego building, and study seismic waves with a Slinky. With 15 such hands-on projects and demonstrations for home or classroom, this engaging science book for readers 8 to 12 employs drawings, diagrams, vocabulary words, sidebars, anecdotes, and did-you-know trivia to explore geology and physical geography as fascinating parts of our everyday world.

"Geography is addressed from the standpoint of climate influences, natural resources, and the unique relationship that people have with the southwest desert. The focus on a specific geologic area lends an intimate view of geology ... [and] yields refreshing detail that general texts do not cover."óNSTA.org